Temporary Threshold Shift after Exposure to Noise and Music of Equal Energy

Ten voluntary subjects were exposed to 10 min of recorded pop music on five occasions. On five other occasions these subjects were exposed to a noise with level-, frequency-, and time-distribution characteristics, measured in octave-band steps, equal to those of the music. Measurements of temporary threshold shift showed almost equal sensitivity to the two stimuli in four subjects, whereas six others demonstrated marked differences in sensitivity. Differences were always due to more temporary threshold shift after exposure to the nonmusical noise stimulus. These findings imply that factors other than physical properties of the fatiguing sound contribute to the degree of temporary threshold shift.